This SO will be offered in TWO PHASES. Each phase includes premium quality Hagi pieces that were produced in a very limited and EXCLUSIVE run for members of TeaChat!!! You may never see this white/black/gold glaze again as it was purely an "accident of an accident." See below for more explanations.

Phase 1 will include 5 pieces that are upgraded and unique to SSO 15 Sendai, and are the most limited pieces. These pieces will be offered in an auction format. See below for how the auction will work, however bidding begins at 6 pm today via PM to me (Sunday and will run for 23 hours, ending at 5 pm Monday (one hour prior to Phase 2). The Phase 1 pieces include a dramatic notched foot and an upgraded box!

Phase 2 will be discussed in future posts in this topic beginning around 3 pm on Monday 5/23. PM order requests to me for Phase 2 will be accepted on or after 6 pm Monday. Phase 2 includes pieces with the exact same glaze as Phase 1 pieces, just a standard foot and standard wood box.

Some close-ups showing off the varied White/Black/Gold glaze in waves. Turbulent, beautiful, yes?

A little background is in order. When I first saw the prelim photos for this SO 15, I immediately thought one word, "Sendai," and also immediately thought this SO should be a fundraiser for the relief efforts in Japan.

We hope to raise at least 500 USD for the relief effort. I hope we can raise 750 USD! I will be ecstatic if we were to raise 1000 USD. But whatever we raise, it will help!

Thanks should also go to Magokorodo for his assistance and sacrifices for this SO!

About the pieces. When I first saw the prelim photos, I was struck by the waves of glaze that reminded me of that tragic day and I knew what I had to do!

The glaze is turbulent yet is it beautiful, just like nature. I continued to see metaphors in this piece, most of which I will leave to your imagination. It will always remind me of that tragic day, but also the love for Japan many of us share, and the focus forward that is Japan.

As mentioned, the first word that came to mind was "Sendai." I immediately asked permission to name these pieces Sendai and asked for assistance in putting together this fund raiser.

The glaze is purely an accident of an accident (one of those metaphors comes to my mind)! There was a prototype that was an accident that we were attempting to reproduce. After 2 failed attempts, the accident of the accident happened, and this piece was born. It will likely never be reproduced!

The glaze is a beautiful waves of white with varying amounts of black speckles flowing in the waves of white. There are accents of gold!

The shape is very "summery," wan (bowl), wide and tapered with an awesome flare at the top. The body's bottom is rounded, not angular adding to the overall fluid and unique appearance of the piece. The Phase 1 pieces' diameters are around 3.5" (8.5 cm). The Phase 2 diameters are a tad over 4" (10+ cm). The shape is perfect for hot Summer tea enjoyment as the shape will allow the tea to cool a bit.

The 5 pieces in this auction are the only 5 with notched feet. These are very dramatic as well. Also an upgraded wood box is included. The remaining 20 of Phase 2 have more standard Hagi feet and standard wood box.

*Special note, 4 of the 5 pieces of Phase 1 auction have waves of glaze that serendipitously flowed over Yamane Seigan's stamp on the bottom. (yet another one of those metaphors I spoke of) This is not unheard of, it simply happens sometimes.

All boxes include special designation stamp indicating the piece was made exclusively for TeaChat as well as number/total run (3/25 for #3 of 25 total pieces).

You can begin PMing your bid directly to me at 6 pm on Sunday 5/22 Eastern USA time, this evening. Opening bids should be at least 60 USD, though I am hoping for some more generous bidding!

Auction closes at 5 pm on Monday 5/23 Eastern USA time.

PLEASE include your pick preference and bid. You can bid on more than one piece, however if you are successful for one piece, we will first allow other bidders of other pieces to have a piece. So, if you do bid on more than one piece, you will only be obligated for one piece, your highest successful bid.

You can increase your bid anytime during the auction which will end exactly at 5 pm on Monday 5/23.

I will post updates on the bids for each piece (but no names!) at least 4 times before the auction close. So you can track your status. The last guaranteed update will be 1 hour before the auction closes, but likely closer to close as well!!!

Highest bid, bid as high as you want. You will only be held to up to 5 USD above the 2nd highest bid for item bid upon.

Consolation bidders (non winners) will be given the opportunity to apply their bid to their top pick(s) from the remaining Phase 2 (20) pieces ahead of the general offering. All 20 are beautiful, but there are always ones that really catch our eyes.

And bidding has commenced for a very good cause ... plus some really astoundingly beautiful pieces are up for grabs to the highest bidders ... or should I say contributors.

Drax wrote:These cups are really quite beautiful.... the gold color seems to be something of a rarity in Seigan's work, too.

Also, this offering is a great opportunity to help out in some way with relief efforts -- speaking of which, what exactly will be the recipient of the relief efforts...? (:

Thanks for asking, Drax. We are working this out currently. This whole thing literally came together in the blink of an eye (I saw the original prelim photos and knew in a split second!). So, I am working with some friends in Japan and will continue to do so.

We want it to go to a cause where it will make a difference and not get swallowed up by administrative costs ... and of course a truly credible recipient!

I guess part of the decision will also be dependent on how successful we are. But it is good having friends in Japan to assist!!!

Bid updates! Thank you bidders! I am excited to see the early interest for such a good cause!

#1 $100#2 $111#3 $65 #4 $80#5 $70

Members can of course continue to bid on #1-5 until 5 pm Eastern time USA, Monday 5/23.

I would ask that bids would be at least $2.50 more for pieces that have bids less than $100. For pieces with bids more than $100, please increase by at least $5. Of course you can also bid higher (or give me your max bid that can be placed for you).